Saturday, March 21, 2009

Please don't tell my girlfriend. She'll be devastated when she finds out, but I can't keep it to myself any longer: I'm madly in love with Judge Judy, and I want to be the stepfather of her kids.

For those of you who aren't blessed with American TV, Judge Judy is a real judge who has a reality show on CBS where she settles cases in a small claims court. And she does so with gusto, wit, and the kind of sadism that works like a charm on TV.

By the way, Judge Judy is not a babe. She's not exactly the kind of lady you'd put in your locker and wank off to. She's more like your Latin teacher from Hell. But make no mistake, Judy Sheindlin is God's gift to American reality shows. She is tough, funny, and fair. She'll abuse you whether you're innocent, retarded or Norwegian. Her intuition is uncanny - Judge Judy knows you're a loser, even before your step into her court. And she's happy to humiliate you in front of ten million viewers.

I absolutely love the show. There's nothing like watching common people being torn to pieces. Judge Judy is court porn at its best; she has turned condescension into an art form. Judy Sheindlin passes judgment on everybody - just like God. The only difference is that she looks better in a black robe.

What I admire most is how Judge Judy rules the court with an iron fist. She's happy to tell people that they're bums, free loaders, and sociopaths with dandruff. And she has every right to because her ratings are high!

A clairvoyant friend told me that during Judy's last incarnation she worked in a concentration camp for the SS - and now she has come back to finish the job. But I don't believe that's true. Judy is a wonderful mother, a stout Republican, and a gracious tipper. Her values are all-American. I bet she believes in God as long as He shuts up when she speaks.

Well, I for one believe in Judge Judy. She's a part of me ... not a part that I like, but a part nevertheless.

But now, you have to excuse me, I have to jet. In a few minutes another re-run of Judge Judy is coming on - the one where two choir boys are suing a priest for spanking them with his Bible.

About me

Twelve novels out in Danish, three in French, two in Portuguese, and one in English (THE TSAR'S DWARF, Hawthorne, 2008). Just finished a new novel in English about a man's clumsy attempt at reaching Enlightenment in an ashram in India.

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A Anã Do Czar (Portuguese, 2006)

"Like 'The Elephant Man' by David Lynch, Peter H. Fogtdal's novel celebrates the life and the dignity of those who were considered sub-humans. It's a wonderful novel where the pursuit of human dignity is narrated with a masterly mixture of drama and humour." Sergio Luis de Carvalho, Portuguese novelist.

Zarens dværg (Danish, 2006)

"It's immensely liberating to read this grotesque novel far out of the fringes of fiction. It has been many years since Danish literature produced such a phantasmagorical novel that brushes so closely to plausible historical reality." Niels Houkjær, Berlingske Tidende, Denmark

Satire på P3 søndag morgen 1989-1992

One of my Spiritual Heroes

Francesco d'Assisi (Francis of Assisi to you English speakers). What a man, what a Saint. And he loved animals, too!

David Huda (1898-1982)

My grand father David Huda from Safed and Sæby whose amazing life inspired my novel Drømmeren fra Palæstina (Le Reveur de Palestine). Picture is from 1966.

Before It All Went Wrong ...

Marie Huda Fogtdal (1933-2004)

My late wonderful mother Marie Huda Fogtdal (1933-2004) who inspired the last story in Skorpionens hale (Scorpion's Tale) - an uplifting fairy tale about death. Picture is from 2004, six months before she passed.

And Here's Another:

Rumi. Persian 13th Century Sufi Saint and poet. Read his poetry. No one does it better.